Carla Zorovich

When I was 39 years old I felt something strange. I went and got a regular mammogram; they detected something and it was slow growing. In this case, and virtually all breast cancer cases, early detection is the key. I had a positive progesterone receptor and the cancer was hormone driven. The cancer was less than 1 centimeter and actually 6 millimeters in diameter. There was no prior history of breast cancer present. No breast cancer history in my family. I immediately began seven weeks of radiation.

What steps do you take to remain cancer free?

I have to have a mammogram every three months and I regularly meet with an oncologist on a monthly basis. I've always tried to remain healthy. My dad had cancer, my brother had cancer, but I went through life not really thinking about getting breast cancer. I was proactive in dealing with this in a timely manner and that made all the difference in not letting the cancer grow. I listened to my doctors… I don't have people tell me how to run my accounting business so I don't question their (doctors) surgery or treatments. That said it's still important to get a second opinion.

What was treatment for breast cancer like?

It takes a team… Dr. Marla Dudak assembled quite a team. I took the day off work during my visit and was patient with them; the first day of this I had my biopsy done right there and then. Then, it was like they immediately performed surgery. Time is of the essence when you have this type of cancer. I had my X-rays and imaging at Care Diagnostics for Women in Boca Raton; state-of-the-art digital equipment is the key in keeping it from spreading and had surgery by Dr. Marla Dudak at West Boca Medical Center. I want to also thank Dr. Ben Han, a board-certified radiation oncologist at South Florida Radiation Oncology in Boca Raton and Dr. Mindy Bohrer, an expert in hematology and medical oncology. I told my three children so we could all go through this together.